The ROI of a Social MVP

In a recent NBA Basketball Social Performance Index SPI study conducted by Publicis Media Sport and Entertainment PMSE with Blinkfire Analytics we uncovered some key trends driving this new culture of the NBAamp160 We also unlocked some ways marketers can capitalize on opportunities to join in this dynamic conversationFans Live for the DramaThe rise of social and its usage by some of the NBA39s greatest players gives fans a front row seat to drama as it unfolds on and off the courtamp160 Media rights for the NBA are much more flexible than the NFL allowing content to more easily go viralamp160 Players usage of emojis and witty posts fuel speculation about everything from trade deals to rivalries and even dating rumorsamp160 More importantly you also have NBA royalty like James and Curry weighing in on everything from societal issues to pregame commentary to family lifeamp160 A new shorthand language has emerged on this channel and you do not have to be an avid NBA fan to follow the conversationRight now the topic du jour is the upcoming NBA AllStar game which is an event where popularity reigns supreme and determines which players are selectedamp160 In the early rounds of voting the Milwaukee Bucks39 Giannis Antetokounmpo New York Knicks39 Kristaps Porzingis and 76ers39 Embiid who are all in their early 20s were surprising lead contenders ranking ahead of some of the more established players of the gameYoung Talent Driving New Generation of Global NBA FansEmbiid and Antetokounmpo were ultimately named AllStar starters showing how younger and more sociallyengaging players are making names for themselves and amassing loyal fan basesamp160 Coincidentally both players as well as Porzingis scored high in early AllStar voting and experienced an increase in their SPI score this year with Antetokounmpo scoring 47 followed by Embiid 29 and Porzingis 11Embiid is a prime example of someone who has helped transform the culture of the NBA through social mediaamp160 He is witty authenticamp160and shares content that spans beyond his repertoire to include other global sports and athletesamp160 Despite having less followers than Golden State Warriors39 Klay Thompson Embiid is more skilled at engaging his fan baseamp160 Over the past year he has generated 11000 more likes and 3800 more comments than ThompsonInterestingly Embiid39s popularity extends far beyond 76ers devotees as roughly 98 of his followers do not identify as 76ers fans or even following the team on social media sitesamp160 In the most recent offseason Embiid jumped a stunning 29points in social rankings compared to his 2016 metrics providing another indication of his growing global presenceSome players like the Cavaliers39 Jae Crowder have moved up the ranks of our SPI thanks to their strong engagement rate their sense of humoramp160and their ability to blend their personal and professional livesamp160 In Crowder39s case his score grew by more than 122 over the year partly due to his move from the Boston Celtics to Cleveland and thanks to offseason social chatter which kept him in the spotlightContent Still KingOf course simply being an NBA young upandcomer or a star doesn39t guarantee that a player will achieve the highest engagement on socialamp160 Good content still drives followers likes and fansamp160 Golden State39s Kevin Durant the No 2 most followed NBA player and Houston39s Harden the No 5 most followed player are two examples of solid players on social platforms who do not offer a true look behind the scenes and as aamp160result since 2016amp160their SPI scores haveamp160droppedamp160 In contrast Curry and James chime in on current events and show inside looks at their family and personal lives driving greater authenticity and consistently earning them top spots on our SPI listingAccording to our research the average daily engagement driven by the top 117 NBA players doubled in 2017 while frequency of posting remained the sameamp160 Players were posting about the same amount but fans were more engagedamp160 One key reason is the rise of Instagramamp160 According to eMarketer nearly 594 million people worldwide used Instagram regularly in 2017 representing about a quarter of social network usersamp160It is clear we are living in a day and age where NBA players have become their own content creatorsamp160 A large Twitter following would have once been seen as a channel for simple awareness or association but today when a brand affiliates with a particular player it can help drive greater ROI There are still marketing opportunities to be found on social mediaamp160 For instance there are a number of players who hold a strong SPI ranking who have not yet been engaged for marketing endorsementsamp160 Brands that can align authentically with these untapped social media superstars may find themselves in an advantageous position among this new generation of NBA fans and followersamp160 After all these social mediasavvy NBA stars have already demonstrated they can keep the conversation going on social long after the lastsecond halfcourt shot goes up or the final whistle is blownClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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The ROI of a Social MVP

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Robin Clarke

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The ROI of a Social MVP

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